Sheet-metal car end



E. W. TEST.

SHEET METAL CAR END.

APPLlCATfON FILED AUG.8| 1921.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' SHEET-METAL CAR END.

Application filed August 8, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELLIS W. TEST, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Michigan City, county of La Porte, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Metal Car Ends, of'which the following is a specification, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof. I

The invention relates to car ends formed of sheet metal, the plate or plates of which the end is formed being stiffened and strengthened by corrugations.

- The object of the invention is to increase the stiffness and strength of such plates by an improved form and arrangement of corrugations; and it consists in a structure such as is hereinafter described, and as illus-v trated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a detail side elevation of a box car provided with the improved end;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof;

Figs. 3, 4c and 5 are detail sections, respectively, on the lines 3-3, 4.-4 and 5-5 of Fig. 2.

The invention is illustrated in connection with a box car, and because of the height of the our two end plates 10 and 11, of substantially identical form, are employed, the upper plate overlapping the upper margin of,

the lower plate, as shown.

The two plates being substantially identical in form, but one need be specifically de scribed.

"The plate, as 11, is provided by pressing with an outward central bulge 12, which, because the length of the plate exceeds its width, is preferably oval in contour. At each of its ends the bulge 1-2 merges into a plurality of depressions, as 13, 14, 15, 16, formed by pressing the plate inwardly, these depressions extending longitudinally of the plate to within a short distanceof its end.

The depressions 13 to 16, with the interv.en-'

portions 1%, 18 and-19' of the plate,

, wardly, as shown at 20 and 21, for attach which remain in its original plane, form a series of short corrugations.

The marginal portions of the plate remain in its original plane, and may be flanged in- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

Serial No. 490,576.

ment to the framing of a car, the flange 21 The bulge 12 forms an arch, curving in all' directions, its longer dimension springing from the bottoms of the depressions 13 to 16 and from the intermediate portions of the plate 17, 18- and 19. Because of the end corrugations this arch is of the height found desirable in practice, with a minimum projection beyond the plane of the plate, thus reducing the length of the car through its ends and not encroaching upon the space necessariyfor the end accessories of the car.

plate of the configuration described possesses great strength to resist the pressure of shifting lading. Pressure from within on the central portion of the plate is distributed in all directions toward its margin, and is resisted largely by the tensile strength of the metal. The end corrugations prevent the bending of the plate under outward stresses,

While the depressions 13 to 16 are shown-- as of greater Width than the intervening portions of the plate which remain 'in its original plane, the particular size and configuration of these depressions may be varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention 1. A car end comprising a sheet metal plate having fiat marginal portions and a central outward bulge, and a plurality of longitudinally disposed inwardly extending corrugations in its fiat portions and merging into the bulge.

2. A car end comprising a sheet metal plate having fiat marginal portions, a central outward bulge, and a series of inwardly projecting corrugations between its flat marginal portions and the bulge and merging into the latter.

3. A car end comprising a sheet metal plate having fiat marginal portions, a center.

ends of the bulge and merging into the lat 4. A car end comprising a sheet metal plate having flat marginal portions, a central outward bulge, and a series of inwardly projecting corrugations between the flat mar- 5 ginal portions of the plate and the ends of the bulge and merging into the latter.

5. A car end comprising a sheet metal plate having flat top, bottom and side marginal portions and a central outward bulge, and a plurality oflongitudinally disposed in- 10 Wardly extending corrugations-in its flat side portions and merging into the bulge.

ELLIS WV. TEST. 

